U.S. Government tells citizenry how they can help the war effort by living conservatively and avoiding waste, early in World Wa...

U.S. Government tells citizenry how they can help the war effort by living conservatively and avoiding waste, early in World War II

Location:
United States USA Date:1943Duration:2 min 45 secSound:Yes

A public service informational campaign during World War 2 in the United States. A uniformed nurse tends to a U.S. Army Sergeant, Vincent Booth, who lost a leg during the African campaign of World War 2. He is in a wheel chair. The Sergeant speaks about the things that can be done on the home front to ration and help the war effort. As he narrates, a typical American family of three, father, mother, and youth in Boy Scout uniform, are seen sitting down at their dining room table. Missing is their daughter, serving as a WAC overseas (shown briefly in uniform) and their son, in the Navy (also shown briefly, in uniform). Scene shifts to the father at his work place. Narrator says he uses 10 percent of his weekly income to buy war bonds. The mother is seen at home with her Boy Scout son. She is writing letters to her son and daughter in the service. Change of scene shows her in a hospital, volunteering as a Red Cross Nurses aid. Next, the family members are seen in their home, characterized by the narrator as "an arsenal for victory," where they are being careful not to waste resources like electricity, home heating fuel, and cooking oils. They contribute their old metal objects to the war drive collections, and their son in the Boy Scouts participates in the local paper salvage drives. He is seen in Boy Scout uniform tying up a bundle of newspapers (with pictures of Hitler and Tojo on top which he dramatically stands on when tying the papers). They repair and use their old clothes, or contribute them to charities. The propaganda film ends summarizing ways that ordinary civilians can help the war effort, by rationing and avoiding waste at home, with on screen instructions: "Fight Waste! 1. Don't waste anything; 2. Buy only what is necessary; 3. Salvage what you don't need; 4. Share what you have."